East Mills falls in home opener, 30-25

Rubie Hastie (No. 5) was one of four Wolverines making their first start in the opener. The sophomore scored four points on 2-of-8 shooting in the 30-25 loss
Red Oak outscored East Mills 10-1 scoring run down the stretch in a 30-25 season-opening road victory in non-conference girls basketball last Tuesday in Malvern.
The two teams struggled to put the ball in the basket offensively in the rugged, defensive-minded opener. The Wolverines led 17-16 at the half but the score was knotted at 19-19 at the end of the third quarter.
East Mills rattled off a 5-0 run to open the final frame, but the Tigers scored 10 of the game’s final 11 points to pull out the win.
Heading into the game, the Wolverines were breaking in four new starters. Head coach Lexi Moreno admits she wasn’t sure what to expect from those newcomers. But she was pleasantly surprised.
“We had a trio that produced a lot for us,” the coach said.
Loycee Palmer grabbed 10 rebounds, Mia Goodman added a team-high nine points and also grabbed six rebounds and seven steals, and freshman Trenity Williams came off the bench with eight points and seven rebounds in her first varsity game.
“We did some good things, but we definitely have a lot to work on,” Moreno said. “Offensively, we have to clean up our passes and figure out how to get the ball in the hole. We’re learning how to navigate our offense with the personnel we have, and we will continue to build our chemistry on the court.
“The girls have created an awesome environment in practice where they push each other to get better every day. I’m excited to see how we improve over the course of the season.”
In a game of runs, Red Oak coach Tristin ohnson said, this one was decided by who made the better run at the end.
“We battled all game and just like basketball is always it’s a game of runs,” said Red Oak coach Tristin Johnson.
The Tigers’ Olivia Bozwell led all scorers with 13 points. Emily Sebeniecher had nine points, including the go-ahead three-pointer late.
“We stressed to the girls making sure we boxed out and went after rebounds to limit the inside shots for East Mills,” Johnson said. “I thought we did a much better job than I had seen from the scrimmages and jamboree at this. Plenty of work to continue to do but it’s nice getting off to a win.”